The document provides definitions and origins for numerous English word roots and prefixes. It lists Greek and Latin roots for words relating to concepts like absence, action, air, farming, pain, walking, love, humanity, water, trees, pressure, war, goodness, life, cells, and more. Many English words incorporating these roots are given as examples.
The document provides definitions and origins for numerous English word roots and prefixes. It lists Greek and Latin roots for words relating to concepts like absence, action, air, farming, pain, walking, love, humanity, water, trees, pressure, war, goodness, life, cells, and more. Many English words incorporating these roots are given as examples.
The document provides definitions and origins for numerous English word roots and prefixes. It lists Greek and Latin roots for words relating to concepts like absence, action, air, farming, pain, walking, love, humanity, water, trees, pressure, war, goodness, life, cells, and more. Many English words incorporating these roots are given as examples.
The document provides definitions and origins for numerous English word roots and prefixes. It lists Greek and Latin roots for words relating to concepts like absence, action, air, farming, pain, walking, love, humanity, water, trees, pressure, war, goodness, life, cells, and more. Many English words incorporating these roots are given as examples.
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Root word Meanings Origin
abyss - without bottom; achromatic - without color;
a/n not, without Greek anhydrous - without water a on Latin afire - on fire; ashore - on the shore; aside - on the side abduct - carry away by force; abnormal - away from a, ab/s from, away, off Latin normal, not normal; absent - away, not present; aversion - the act of turning away from; abbreviate: to shorten. accelerate - to increase the speed of; accessible - easily a/c/d to, toward, near Latin entered, approached, or obtained; admittance - allowing into; acrobat - a "high walker"; acronym - a word formed top, height, tip, acro Greek from the first (capital) letters of a word; acrophobia - beginning fear of height activity - something that a person does; react - to do act do Latin something in response; interaction - communication between two or more things aerate - to let air reach something; aerial - relating to the aer/o air Greek air; aerospace - the air space agriculture - management of the land, agribusiness - Latin agr/i/o farming making money by utilizing land; agrarian - relating to Greek the management of land neuralgia - pain caused by a nerve; analgesic - a drug alg/o pain Latin that makes one pain free; nostalgia - aching for the familiar ambidextrous - able to use both hands equally; both, on both ambiguous - having more than one meaning; ambi, amphi Latin sides, around ambivalence - conflicting or opposite feelings toward a person or thing amble - to walk in a slow, relaxed way; ambulant - ambul walk, move Latin walking or moving around; ambulance - a vehicle that moves a patient amiable - friendly, pleasant, lovable; amity - friendly ami/o love Latin and peaceful relations; amorous - showing romantic love up, back, analysis - a close examination of something; anatomy - against, the structure of something as visible when cut up for ana Greek again, analysis; anachronism - not being in the right place in throughout time androgynous - being both male and female; android - andr/o man, male Greek resembling a human; misandry - hatred towards men animal - a living organism; animate - to make alive; anim life, spirit Latin equanimity - of balanced spirit ann/enn year Latin anniversary - a date observed once a year; annual - happening once a year; millennium - 1,000 years antecede - to come before something in time; ante before, in front Latin antemeridian - before noon; anteroom- a small room before the main room chrysanthemum and amaranth - names of flowers; anth/o flower Greek anthology - a collection of treasured writings; anthozoan - half plant, half animal, like anemones and corals. anthropology - the study of mankind; anthropomorphism - giving human form to non-human anthrop/o human Greek things; philanthropy - the love to mankind (expressed through good deeds) antibody - a substance that destroys micro-organisms; against, opposite anti Greek antiseptic - preventing infection; antisocial - opposing of social norm aphorism - a short expression of a general truth; apology away, off, apo, apho Greek - an explicit expression of regret, apostrophe - a small separate dash used in place of an omitted letter aquarium - a water container for fish; aquatic- relating aqu/a water Latin to water; aqueduct - a pipeline for water arborist - someone working with trees; arbor - a shady arbor tree Latin area formed by trees; arborous - having many trees archbishop - the highest ranking bishop; archenemy - chief, most arch/i Greek chief or worst enemy; matriarch - a female who rules a important, rule group; monarch - a king or queen archaeology - the study of ancient cultures; archaic - primitive, arch/a/i Greek belonging to an earlier period; archive - a collection of ancient historical materials arthroscope - a tool to see inside a joint; arthritis - Latin arthr/o joint inflammation of a joint; arthropod - invertebrates with Greek jointed legs, like spiders, crustaceans, insects artifact - object made by a person's skill; artisan - a art skill Latin person skilled in a craft; artist - a person who creates skillfully astronaut - a person traveling to the stars; astronomer - astro, star, stars, outer Greek someone who studies the stars; asterisk - a star-shaped aster space sign used as a reference tool audible - loud enough to be heard; audience - people aud/i/io hear Latin who listen to a program; audiovisual - relating to sound and vision autocrat - a person who governs with absolute power; auto self, same, one Greek autograph - a person's own signature; automatic - moving by itself aviary - a large enclosure for birds; aviatrix - a female avi/a bird Latin airplane pilot; aviation - the art of designing or operating aircraft baric - pertaining to pressure, esp. of the atmosphere; bar/o pressure, weight Greek milliard - metric unit, equal to 1/1000th of a bar; baryon - heavy elementary particle bellicose - warlike; belligerent - hostile, ready to fight; bell/i war Latin rebel - person who opposes and fights benefactor - person who gives money to a cause; bene good, well Latin beneficial - producing a good effect; benevolent - showing kindness or goodwill biannual - happening twice a year; binoculars - optical two, twice, once bi/n Latin device with two lenses; bilateral - of or involving two in every two sides bibliography - a list of books used as sources; bibli/o book Greek bibliomania - an extreme love of books; bibliophile - a person who loves books biography- a life story written by another person; life, living bio Greek biology - the science of life; biosphere - Earth's surface matter inhabited by living things blastula - an early stage of embryonic development; cell, primitive, blast/o Greek fibroblast - a cell that forms connective tissue; immature cell blastoderm - the layer surrounding the inside of an egg bursar- an administrative officer in charge of funds; burs pouch, purse Latin bursary- the treasury of a college or monastery; disburse- to expend especially from a public fund calcite; calcium- the flame of acetylene gas generated by reaction of calcium carbide with calc stone Latin water; calcification- impregnation with calcareous matter candid- free from bias, prejudice, or malice; candle- glowing, cand Latin something that gives light; incandescent- white, iridescent glowing, or luminous with intense heat intercept - to stop or interrupt; capt, cept, take, hold Latin ceive perceive - to take notice of something; captivating - taking hold of cardiac - relating to the heart; cardiogenic - resulting cardi/o heart Greek from heart disease; cardiologist - a heart doctor carnivorous - flesh-eating; carnal - pertaining to the carn/i flesh, meat Latin body or flesh; incarnate - given bodily form down, against cataclysm - a flood or other disaster, catalog - a completely, cata Greek complete listing; catastrophe - turning for the worst, a intensive, substantial disaster according to cauterize - to burn with a hot instrument; caustic - caust, Latin to burn capable of burning or eating away; holocaust - total caut Greek devastation, especially by fire cede, exceed - to go beyond the limits; recede - to go back; ceed, go, yield Latin accessible - easily entered, approached, or obtained; cess accelerate - to increase the speed of; decelerate - to celer fast Latin reduce the speed of hundred, centennial- the 100th anniversary; centimeter - 1/100 of cent/i Latin hundredth a meter; century - 100 years egocentric - self-centered; eccentric - not having a centr/o/i center Greek common center, not according to norm; centrifugal - moving outward from a center encephalitis - inflammation of the brain; cephalic - pertaining to the head; cephalopod - marine mollusks cephal/o head Greek like octopus and squid who have tentacles growing from their head cerebral - pertaining to the brain; cerebrate - to use the cerebr/o brain Latin brain; cerebrospinal - pertaining to the brain and the spinal cord ascertain- to find out something with certainty; certain - cert sure Latin being absolutely sure; certify - to state that something is true chrom/o achromatic - without color; chromium - a blue-white chromat/o, color, pigment Greek metallic chemical element, chromatics - the study of chros color chronic - lasting for a long time; chronological - chron/o time Greek arranging events in time order, synchronize - happening at the same time chrysanthemum and helichrysum - golden/yellow chrys/o gold, yellow Greek flowers; chrysolite - a yellowish gem homicide - murder; incisor - a sharp tooth for cutting cide, cise cut, kill Latin food; insecticide - a chemical used to kill insects circum, circumnavigate - to sail around; circumscribe - to draw around, about Latin circle around; circumspect - looking around clamor - to shout and make noise; exclaim - to cry out claim, clam shout, speak out Latin loudly and suddenly; proclamation - something announced officially in public clarification - an explanation; clarify - to make clar clear Latin something clear; declare - to state something clearly conclusion - the end or last part; exclusion - shutting clud, clus close Latin out, rejecting; seclude - to keep away from; to isolate inclination - a leaning toward; incline - a surface that cline lean Latin slopes or leans; recline - to lean back and relax coauthor - writer who collaborates with another author; with, together, coeducation - educating males and females together; co Latin joint cohousing - planning your neighborhood in an intentional neighborly fashion Collaborate - to work together; collision - smashing col together, jointly Latin together; colloquial - words formed by everday interaction commemorate - to memorize together; composition - an together, com Latin arrangement or putting together of parts; commune - common living together while owning things in common cognition - process of acquiring knowledge; incognito - cogn/i know Latin disguised so no one knows you; recognize - to discover that one knows concur - to agree with someone; contemporary - of the con with, jointly Latin same time period as others; convention - a gathering of people with a common interest contradict to argue against, Contraflow, contraception, contra/o against, opposite Latin contrary not in agreement, controversy disagreement corporation - a company recognized by law as a single corp/o body Latin body; corpse - a dead body; corporal - pertaining to the body cosmonaut - a Russian astronaut; cosmos - the universe; cosm/o universe Greek microcosm - a miniature universe opposite, counteract - to oppose the effects of an action; counter contrary, countermand - to cancel a previous order; opposing counteroffensive - attack against an attack craniology - the study of skull characteristics; cranium - cranio skull Greek skull of vertebrates; cranial - pertaining to the skull credence - belief that something is true or valid; cred believe Latin credulous - believing things too easily, gullible; incredible - unbelievable crucial-characteristic of or having the form of a cross ; crucifix- the cross itself as a Christian emblem; cruc cross Latin excruciating- so intense as to cause great pain or anguish cryptic - of hidden meaning; cryptography - science of crypto hidden, secret Greek secret codes; encrypt - encode into secret code accumulate - to gather or pile up; cumulative - gradually cumul mass, heap Latin building up concurrent- running parallel; current- flowing easily and curr, curs run Latin smoothly; cursive- having a flowing, easy, impromptu character bicycle - a vehicle with two wheels; cycle - a sequence cycl circle, ring Greek that is repeated; cyclone - a storm with circling winds reduce, away, decelerate - to slow down, reduce speed; dethrone - to de Latin down, remove remove from power; debug - to remove bugs dec/a, ten Greek decade - 10 years; decathlon - athletic contest that deka includes 10 disciplines in which each participant competes; December - formerly the 10th month of the Roman calendar deciliter - a tenth of a liter; decimate - reduce deci one tenth Latin dramatically; decibel - one tenth of the sound volume unit bel democracy - government of the people; demographic - dem/o people Greek the study of people; epidemic - spreading among people in a region demitasse - a small cup of coffee; demimonde - demi half, less than Latin someone of little respected life style philodendron - a climbing plant that grows on trees; dendr/o/i tree Greek dendrochronology - dating events by studying growth rings in trees; dendriform - in the shape of a tree dental - relating to teeth; dentist - a doctor for the teeth; dent, dont tooth Latin dentures - a set of false teeth dermatologist - a doctor for the skin; pachyderm - a derm/a skin Greek class of animals with very thick skin (elephant, rhinoceros); dermatitis - inflammation of the skin dichromatic - displaying two colors; diploma - a di/plo two, twice Greek certificate, literally "a letter folded double"; dilemma - a situation that requires a choice between two alternatives. apart, away, digression - a departure from the main issue, subject; di/s not, to the Latin disappear - to move out of sight; dissect - to cut apart opposite piece by piece. diabetes - disease characterized by excessive thirst and through, discharge of urine; diagnosis - understanding a dia between, Greek condition by going through a detailed review of apart, across symptoms; dialog - conversation between two people. contradict - to express the opposite of; prediction - a dict speak Latin statement foretelling the future; dictate - to speak out loud for another person to write down. dominate - to be the master of; domineering - domin master Latin excessively controlling; predominate - to have more power than others donation - a contribution or gift; donor - someone who don/at give Latin gives something; pardon - to give forgiveness for an offense conduct - to lead musicians in playing music; educate - duc/t lead Latin to lead to knowledge; deduction - a subtraction of an amount. duplicate - make an identical copy; duet - a musical du/o two, twice Latin composition for two voices or instruments; duo - a pair normally thought of as being together. harden, to last, durable - having the quality of lasting; duration - the dur Latin lasting length of time something lasts; enduring - able to last. dynamo - a generator of energy; dynamic - having power, energy, dyn/a/am Greek physical energy/power; dynamite - a powerful strength explosive. dyspepsia - abnormal digestion; dystopia - an imaginary dys abnormal, bad Greek place of total misery; dyslexia - impairment of the ability to handle words. eloquent - speaking beautifully and forcefully; emissary e- out, away Latin - a representative of a country or group sent on a mission; eject - throw out forcefully. egoistic - self-centered; alter ego - a higher aspect of Latin ego self oneself; egomania - excessive preoccupation with Greek oneself. into, cover with, empathy - intention to feel like another person; em, en cause empower - put into power; engorge - make larger. endotherm - a creature that can keep its inside temperature fairly constant; endocrine - relating to endo within, inside Greek glands that secrete directly into the blood or lymph; endogamy - the custom to marry within one's clan, tribe etc. bicentennial - of or relating to an age or period of 200 enn/i, anni years Latin years; centennial - of or relating to an age or period of 100 years; perennial -lasting through many years. envision - to picture in the mind; enclose - lock inside; en, in inside, inwards Latin inwards - towards the inside. on, upon, over, epidemic - the rapid spread of something negative; ep/i among, at, after, Greek epilogue - a short speech delivered after a play; to, outside epicenter - the center of an earthquake. equidistant - an equal distance from two points; equ/i equal, equally Latin equanimity - calm temperament, evenness of temper; equation - a statement of equality. ergonomics - study of the working environment; energy erg/o work Greek - the power to accomplish work; energetics - science that looks at energy and its transformation. feeling, esthetician - someone who beautifies; aesthetic - esth/aesth sensation, Latin pertaining to a sense of beauty; kinesthesia - the beauty sensation of bodily movement. ethnic - pertaining to a defined group of people; ethno race, people Greek ethnocentric - focusing on the ethnicity of people; ethnology - the science of people and races. euphemism - replacing an offensive word with an eu good, well Greek inoffensive one; euphonious - having a pleasant sound; euphoria - feeling of well-being. excavate - to dig out; exhale - to breathe out; extract - to ex from, out, Latin pull out. extraordinary - beyond ordinary; extraterrestrial - extra, extro outside, beyond Latin outside the Earth; extrovert - an outgoing person. artifact - an object made by a person; factory - a place fac/t make, do Latin where things are made; malefact - a person who does wrong. bear, bring, confer - to bring an honor to someone; ferry - a boat that fer Latin carry carries passengers; transfer - to move to another place. confide - place trust in someone, fidelity - faithfulness; fid faith Latin fiduciary - a trustee; deflect - to bend course because of hitting something; flect bend Latin inflection - a bending in the voice's tone or pitch; flexible - easily bending. florist - someone working with flowers; floral - flor/a, flower Latin flowerlike; flora - the plant life of a particular time or fleur area completely (used to forsaken or forfeited - completely lost; forgiven - for intensify completely given (a release of debt). the meaning of a word) forebear - ancestor; forebode - to give an advance in front of, fore warning of something bad; forecast - a preview of previous, earlier events to be. conformity- correspondence in form, manner, or form shape Latin character; formation- something that is formed; reformatory- intended for reformation fracture - a break; fragile - easy to break; fragment or fract, frag break Latin fraction - a part or element of a larger whole; fugitive - a person who is running away; refuge - a flee, run away, fug Latin sheltered place to flee to; refugee - a person seeking escape protection defunct - no longer working or alive; function - to work funct perform, work Latin or perform a role normally; malfunction - to fail to work correctly. confusion - being flooded with too much information fus pour Latin that is hard to make sense of; fuse - to melt by heating; infuse - to put into. gastric - pertaining to the stomach; gastronomy - serving gastr/o stomach Greek the stomach by providing good food; gastritis - inflammation of the stomach. genealogy - the study of the history of a family; birth, gen/o/e/ generation - all the people born at approximately the production, Greek genesis same time; genetic -relating to heredity encoded in the formation, kind genes. geography - study of the earth's surface; geology - study earth, soil, geo Greek of the structure of the earth; geoponics - soil based global agriculture. geriatrics - medicine pertaining to the elderly; ger old age Greek gerontocracy - the rule of the elders; gerontology - the science of aging. gigabyte - unit of computer storage space; gigahertz - giga a billion Greek unit of frequency (one billion Hz/sec); gigawatt unit of electric power (one billion watts). decagon - a polygon with 10 angles; diagonal - a Latin gon angle slanting line running across a space; octagon - a Greek geometrical figure with 8 angles. diagram - a simple drawing; grammar - rules of how to gram letter, written Greek write words in sentences; telegram - a message sent by telegraph. granary- a storehouse or repository for grain especially after it is threshed or husked; granola- a mixture of gran grain Latin rolled oats and other ingredients; granule- a little grain (as of sugar) writing, Graphology - the study of handwritings; autograph - graph/y recording, Greek written with one's own hand; seismograph - a machine written noting strength and duration of earthquakes. gratify - to please someone; grateful - feeling thankful; grat pleasing Latin gratuity - a tip, token of appreciation. gynecology - the science of female reproductive health; gyn/o/e woman, female Greek gynephobia - fear of women; gynecoid - resembling a woman. digression - a departure from the main issue, subject, gress, to step, to go Latin etc.; progress - movement forward or onward; gradual - grad/e/i step by step. hectoliter - 100 liters; hectare - metric unit equaling 100 hect/o, hecat hundred Greek ares or 10,000 square meters; hectometer - 100 meters. helicopter - an aircraft with horizontal rotating wing; helic/o spiral, circular Greek helix - a spiral form; helicon - a circular tuba. heliotropism - movement or growth in relating to the sun; heliograph - apparatus used to send message with heli/o sun Greek the help of sunlight; helianthus - genus of plants including sunflowers. hemicycle - a semicircular structure; hemisphere - one hemi half, partial Greek half of the earth; hemistich - half a line of poetry. hemorrhage - clotting of the blood; hemorrhoids - Latin hem/o/a blood swelling of the blood vessels; hemoglobin - red blood Greek particle. hepa liver Latin hepatitis - inflammation of the liver; hepatoma - a tumor of the liver; hepatotoxic - toxic and damaging to the liver. heptagon - a shape with seven angles and seven sides; Heptateuch - the first seven books of the Old Testament; hept/a seven Greek heptameter - a line of verse consisting of seven metrical feet. herbicide - any chemical used to kill unwanted plants, herbi grass, plant Latin etc.; herbivorous - plant-eating; herbal - relating to plants. heterogeneous - made up of unrelated parts; heteronyms hetero different, other Greek - words with same spelling but different meanings; heterodox - not conforming to traditional beliefs. hexagon - a shape with six angles/sides; hexameter - a hex/a six Greek verse measured in six; hexapod - having six legs. histology - study of the microscopic structure of tissues; histo tissue Greek histochemistry - study of the chemical constitution of cells and tissues. homogeneous - of the same nature or kind; homonym - homo, Latin like, alike, same sounding alike; homeopath - a therapy that is based on homeo Greek treating "same with same" hydrate - to add water to; hydrophobia - intense fear of water; hydroponics - growing plants in liquid nutrient hydr/o liquid, water Greek solution; hydraulic - operated by force created by a liquid. hygrometer - tool used to measure humidity; moisture, hygr/o Greek hygrograph - instrument for recording variations in humidity atmospheric humidity. too much, over, Latin hyperactive - very restless; hypercritical - too critical; hyper excessive, Greek hypertension - above normal pressure. beyond hypoglycemia - an abnormally low level of sugar in the blood; hypothermia - abnormally low body temperature; hyp/o under Greek hypothesis - a theory that is unproven but used under the assumption that it is true. geriatrics - medical care of the elderly; pediatrician - a iatr/o medical care Greek doctor who treats children; podiatry - medical care for feet. icon - an (often religious) image, in modern usage a Latin simplified graphic of high symbolic content; iconology - icon/o image Greek science of symbols and icons; iconoclast - someone who destroys religious images and traditional beliefs. idiomatic - Peculiar to a particular language; peculiar, idiosyncracy - a physical or mental characteristic typical idio personal, Greek or a particular person; idiot - someone who is distinctly distinct foolish or stupid. illuminate - to give light to; innovation - a new idea, il, in in, into Latin method, or device; inspection - the act of examining or reviewing. illegal - not legal; impossible - not possible; ig, il, im, not, without Latin inappropriate - not appropriate; irresponsible - not in, ir responsible. image - a likeness of someone; imaginative - able to imag likeness Latin think up new ideas or images; imagine - to form a picture or likeness in the mind. infrastructure - underlying framework of a system; infra beneath, below Latin infrared - below the regular light spectrum. international - involving two or more countries; between, among, inter Latin intersection - place where roads come together; jointly intercept - to stop or interrupt the course of. intrastate - existing in one state; intravenous - inside or intra, within, inside Latin into a vein; introvert - shy person who keeps within intro him/herself. irredeemable - not redeemable; irreformable - not ir not Latin reformable; irrational - not rational. isobar - a line on a map connecting points of equal barometric pressure; isometric - having equality of iso equal measure; isothermal - having equal or constant temperature. eject - to throw someone/something out; interject - to ject throw Latin throw a remark into a discussion; project - to cast or throw something. judgment - a decision of a court of law; judicial - having jud law Latin to do with judges or courts of law; judiciary - a system of courts of law. conjunction - a word that joins parts of sentences; junct join Latin disjunction - a disconnection; junction - a place where two things join. juvenile - youthful or childish; rejuvenate - to bring juven young Latin back to youthful strength or appearance. kilobyte - 1,000 bytes; kilometer - 1,000 meter; kilo thousand Greek kilograms - 1,000 grams. kinetics - study of the force of motion; psychokinesis or kine/t motion, division Greek telekinesis - the ability to move objects with your mind; /mat cinematography - motion picture making. collaborate - to work with a person; elaborate - to work lab work Latin out the details; laborious - requiring a lot of hard work. lactate - to give milk, nurse; lactose - the sugar lact/o milk Latin contained in milk; lactic acid. bilateral - of or involving two sides; unilateral - later side Latin affecting one side of something. leukemia - abnormal increase of white blood cells in the leuk/o, white, colorless Greek blood; leukocyte - a mature white blood cell; leucine - a leuc/o white, crystalline amino acid. lexicology - the study and history of words; alexia -loss word, law, lex Greek of the ability to read; illegal - not authorized by the reading official rules or laws. liberate - to set free; libertine - a person with a free, wild liber free Latin lifestyle; liberty - freedom. linguist - one who studies languages; multilingual - able language, lingu Latin to communicate in multiple languages; linguine - long, tongue flat "tongue-shaped" pasta. liposuction - the mechanical removal of fat reserves in lip/o fat Greek the tissue; lipase - enzyme that breaks down fat; lipoid - resembling fat. lite, ite, mineral, rock, apatite - a group of common minerals; granite - a hard, Greek lith/o fossil granular rock; monolith - a remarkable, unique stone. dislocate - to put something out of its usual place; loc place Latin location - a place; relocate - to move to a new place. logic - correct reasoning; monologue - a long speech by word, doctrine, log/o Greek one speaker;analogy - similarity, especially between discourse things otherwise dissimilar. eloquent - speaking beautifully and forcefully ; loqu, locu speak Latin loquacious - very talkative; elocution - art of public speaking. elucidate - to explain, to throw light on; lucid - easily luc light Latin understood, giving off light; translucent - allowing light through. prelude - introduction to the major performance; illusion lud, lus to play Latin - misleading optical image or impression; delude - to mislead, deceive. illuminate - to fill with light; lumen - unit measuring lumin light Latin light. lunar - relating to the moon; lunarscape - the surface of lun/a/i moon Latin the moon; lunatic - insane (as if driven mad by the moon). macroevolution - large scale evolution; macromolecule - macro large, great Greek a large molecule; macroeconomics - study of the overall forces of economy. magnify - make larger; magnificent - grand; magnate - a magn/a/i great, large Latin powerful person, especially in business or industry. malcontent - wrong content; malaria - "bad air", infectious disease thought to originate from the "bad mal/e bad, ill, wrong Latin air" of the swamps, but caused by the bite of an infected mosquito; malicious - showing strong ill will. maneuver - to move by hand; manual - done with the man/i/u hand Latin hands; manuscript - a book written by hand. command - an order or instruction; demand - a hard-to- mand to order Latin ignore order; mandate - an official order. madness, bibliomania - a crazy love of books; egomania - a mad mania insanity, Greek love of oneself; maniac an insane person. excessive desire marina - a harbor for pleasure boats; maritime - relating mar/i sea Latin to the sea; submarine - an undersea boat; aquamarine - color of sea water. maternal - relating to motherhood; maternity - the state mater, mother Latin of being a mother; matriarch - a woman head of a matr/i household. maximal - the best or greatest possible; maximize - to max greatest Latin make as great as possible; maximum - the greatest amount. medieval - pertaining to the Middle Ages; medium - in medi middle Latin the middle; mediocre - only of medium (inferior) quality. megalopolis - an area with many nearby cities; great, large, mega Greek megaphone - a device that projects a loud voice; million megastructure - huge building or other structure. melancholy - a state of dark emotions; melanoma - melan/o black Greek malignant dark tumor of the skin; melodrama - a dark, pathetic drama. commemorate - to honor the memory of, as by a ceremony; memorial - related to remembering a person memor/i remember Latin or event; memory: an ability to retain knowledge or an individual's stock of retained knowledge. immerge or immerse - to put or dip something into a merge, dip, dive Latin liquid; submerge to dip something completely into mers water Latin Mesoamerica - Middle America; meson - elementary meso middle Greek particle with a mass between an electron and a proton. metaphysics - study of nature and reality; change, after, meta Greek metamorphosis - a complete change of form; metastasis beyond, between - the transmission of disease to other parts of the body. audiometer- an instrument that measures hearing meter, measure Greek acuteness; chronometer- an instrument that measures metr/y time; metric - measured. microbe - a very small living thing; microchip - a tiny very small, micro Greek wafer with an integrated circuit; microscope - a device short, minute to see very small things. mid middle Latin midriff - the area between the chest and the waist; Greek midterm - middle of a term in school; midway - halfway between. immigrant - a person who moves to a new country to migr move Latin settle; migrant - person who moves from place to place; migration - the process of moving. millimeter - one thousandth of a meter; millibar - one milli onethousandth Latin thousandth of a bar; milliliter - one thousandth of a liter. mini - something that is very small; minuscule - min/i small, less Latin extremely tiny; minutiae - very small or trivial details. bad, badly, misbehave - to behave badly; misprint - an error in wrong, wrongly, mis/o Greek printing; misnomer - an error in naming a person or thing. to hate dismiss - to send someone away; missile - a weapon miss, mit send, let go Latin sent into the air; emit - to send something out; admittance - entry. immobilize - to stop from moving; mobile - able to mob move Latin move freely; mobility - the quality of being able to move. one, single, monochromat - having one color; monologue - a speech mon/o Greek alone spoken by one person; monotheism - belief in one god. motion - the act of moving; motivate - to move someone mot, mov move Latin to action; promote to move someone forward; removable - able to be taken or carried away. metamorphosis - complete change of form; endorphins - morph/o form Greek chemical in the brain able to transform pain; amorphous - without distinct shape or form. immortal - living forever, unable to die; mortal - certain mort death Latin to die; mortician - an undertaker. multicolored - having many colors; multimedia - using a many, more than multi Latin range of media; multitasking - doing many things at one or two once. immutable - not changing; mutant - an organism that mut change Latin has undergone change; mutate - to undergo a change. myocardium - the middle muscle of the heart; my/o muscle Latin myasthenia - muscle fatigue or weakness; myosin - common protein in muscle tissue. narrate - to tell a story; narrative - a story; narrator - a narr tell Latin person who tells a story. innate - included since birth; natal - relating to birth; nat born Latin natural - gotten at birth, not afterward. circumnavigate - to sail around a place; naval - relating nav ship Latin to a navy or warships; navigate - to sail a ship through a place. necr/o dead, death Greek necrophil - loving death; necrosis - the death of tissue due to disease or injury; necrology - a list of persons who have recently died. negate - to say it didn't happen; negative - meaning neg no Latin "no"; renege - to go back on a promise. neoclassic - a revival of classic form, neocolonialism - the indirect ("new") economical and political control of neo new, recent a region by a more powerful foreign power; neonatal - a newborn child, especially the first few weeks. nephritis - inflammation of the kidneys; nephrotomy - nephr/o kidney Greek surgical incision of a kidney; nephron - a single, excretory unit in the kidney. neuralgia - pain along a nerve; neurologist - doctor specializing in the nerves; neurotic - mental disorder neur/o nerve Greek that usually does not include an impaired perception of reality. misnomer - an error in naming a person or thing; nominal - being something in name only but not in nom/in name Latin reality; nominate - to name for election or appointment, to designate. nondescript - with no special characteristics; nonfiction non no, not, without Latin - true, real, not made-up; nonsense - without sense. notable - marked as worthy of attention; notarize - to not mark Latin certify a signature on a legal document; annotate - to add remarks. announce - to declare in public; denounce - to proclaim noun, declare Latin harsh criticism; enunciate - to speak or declare nunc something clearly. innovate - to introduce a new way; novelty - something nov new Latin new; novice - a person who is new at a job; renovate - to make something like new again. enumerate - to name a number of items on a list; numer number Latin numerology - the study of magical uses of numbers; numerous - a large number. object - to be against something; obscure - hard to in the way, ob, op Latin understand; opposition - the act of resistance or action against against. octagon - a figure with 8 sides and 8 angles; oct/a/o eight Greek octogenarian - person in his or her 80s; octopus - sea animal with 8 arms. binoculars - lens device for seeing distances; monocular ocu eye Latin - relating to one eye; oculist - an eye doctor. diode - an electron tube having two electrodes, a cathode and an anode; odometer - an instrument od path, way Greek attached to a vehicle to measure the distance traversed; triode - an electron tube with an anode, a cathode, and a control grid deodorant - a substance that helps prevent body odor; malodorous - having a terribly bad odor smell, scent Latin smell; odoriferous- something that bears or diffuses a scent omnipotent - with all the power; omniscient - knowing omni all Latin all things; omnivorous eating all foods. eye, visual optic - relating to the eyes; optician - a person who fits op/t/s Greek condition, sight eyeglasses; autopsy - the examination of a dead body. optimal - the best, the most desirable; optimize - to opt best Latin make the best of; optimum - the best something could be. orthodontist - a dentist that straightens teeth; orthopedic ortho straight Greek - a doctor concerned with the proper alignment of the bones; orthography - the correct way of writing. osteoarthritis - inflammation caused by degeneration of the joints; osteopathy - therapy that uses among others osteo bone Greek manipulation of the skeleton to restore health; osteology - the study of bones. goes beyond, Outgoing - being of lively, sharing nature; outdoing - out surpasses, doing better than; outdoor - outside. exceeds overconfident - more confident than is appropriate; over excessive English overstock - more supplies than is desirable; overexcited - ,more excited than one should be. oxymoron - combining two ideas that sharply contradict oxi/oxy sharp Greek each other; oxidize - corrode a surface. paleontology - study of ancient fossils; paleography - pale/o ancient Greek the study of ancient forms of writing; Paleolithic - period of the Stone Age. panacea - a cure for all diseases or problems; panorama all, any, pan Greek - an all-around view; pantheism - the worship of all everyone gods; pandemic - affecting all. parasite - an organism that lives on and off another beside, beyond, living being; parallel - alongside and always an equal para abnormal, Greek distance apart; paragraph - a portion of a written assistant document that presents a distinct idea. parachute - protection from falling; parasol - an para protection from umbrella used to protect from the sun; pater, Latin paternal - relating to fathers; paternity - fatherhood; father patr/i Greek patriarch - a man who rules a group. antipathy - a feeling of great dislike; apathy - a lack of path feeling, emotion feeling or interest; empathy - ability to understand another's feelings. pedal - a lever pushed by the foot; pedestrian - one who ped/i/e foot, feet Latin walks; pedicure - cosmetic treatment of feet and toes. compel - to force someone to act; expel - to drive pel drive, force Latin someone out of a place; repel - to force back. pentagon - shape having 5 angles and 5 sides, pentagram - a five-pointed star formerly used as a pent/a five Greek symbolic figure in magic; pentathlon - an athletic contest that includes five events. pept, dyspepsia - abnormal digestion; peptic - aiding digestion Greek peps digestion; pepsin - a digestive enzyme. permanent - lasting throughout all time; permeate - to through, per Latin spread throughout; persist - to continue for a long time; throughout perennial - lasting through many years. periodontal - pertaining to bone and tissue around a around, peri Greek tooth; peripheral - lying outside of the center; perimeter enclosing - the outer boundary of an area. esophagus - muscular tube that carries food to the phag/e to eat Greek stomach; anthropophagy or sarcophagy - cannibalism; xylophagous - feeding on wood. philanthropist - one who loves humanity; philology - the phil/o love, friend Greek love of words; philosophy - the love of wisdom; bibliophile - loving books. cacophony - loud, unpleasant sounds; microphone - a phon/o sound Greek device that records and amplifies sound; phonetic - /e/y relating to human speech sounds. photogenic - caused by light; photograph - image made phot/o light Greek on light-sensitive film; photon - the smallest possible unit of light. chlorophyll - a group of green pigments found in leaves; phyll/o leaf Greek phyllotaxis - the arrangement of leaves on a stem; phyllite - a rock that forms sheets, similar to slate. nature, physical - relating to the body; physician - a doctor; phys medicine, the Greek physique - nature and shape of one's body. body epiphyte - a plant growing independently on the surface of another; hydrophyte - a plant that grows only in phyt/o/e plant, to grow Greek water; neophyte - a beginner, especially a person recently converted to a new belief. protoplasm - something that is the first made or formed, to form, also the living portion of a cell; plastic - able to be plas/t/m development, Greek formed, especially when warm; plaster - a mixture of forming cells lime, sand and water that forms a smooth solid covering for walls. applaud- to show approval of especially by clapping the plaud, plod, hands; explosion- an act of exposing something as approve, clap Latin plaus, plos invalid or baseless; plausible- worthy of being applauded breathing, lung, pneumonia - inflammation of the lungs; pneumatic - pneum/o Greek air, spirit using the force of air; dyspnea - difficulty breathing. podiatrist - a doctor for the feet; podium - a small pod/e foot Greek platform to stand on; tripod - a stand or frame with 3 legs. metropolis - a large city; police - people who work for poli city Greek the government to maintain order in a city; politics - actions of a government or political party. polychrome - with many colors; polyglot - a person many, more than poly Greek fluent in many languages; polygon - shape with 3 or one more straight sides. opponent - a person who places him/herself against an pon place, put Latin action, idea, etc.; postpone - to put off doing something. popular - appealing to a lot of people; population - all of pop people Latin the people who live in a particular area; populist - a supporter of the rights of people. export - to carry goods out of a place to another; port carry Latin portable - able to be carried; porter - a person who carries luggage. deposit - to place or drop something; expose to place out pos place, put Latin into the open for all to see; position - the place where someone is. posthumous - after someone's death; postpone - to delay post after, behind Latin something; postscript - an addition to an already completed document. preamble - a part in front of a formal document; prepare earlier, before, pre Latin - to get ready in advance; prediction - a statement in front of foretelling the future. before, in front prognosis - a prediction of what will happen; prologue - Greek pro of, a passage before the main part; prophet - a person who Latin for, forward foretells the future. prototype - the first of a kind; proton - on of the very primitive, first, prot/o Greek basic parts of an atom; protocol - a first draft from chief which a document is prepared. pseudonym - a fictitious name; pseudoscience - theories pseud/o wrong,false Greek presumed without proof of a scientific nature; pseudopregnancy - a false pregnancy. psyche - the human spirit or soul; psychic - relating to psych/o mind, mental Greek the human mind or someone who has supernatural mental abilities; psychology - the study of the mind. pugnacious - having a quarrelsome or aggressive nature; pugn/a, to fight Latin repugnant - distasteful, offensive or revolting; pungent - pung piercing. pul urge compulsion - a very strong urge; expulsion - to someone out; impulsive - having a spontaneous urge to do something. purge - remove anything undesirable; purgatory - according to Roman Catholics a place where souls must purg clean Latin clean themselves of sin; expurgate - remove objectionable passages from a publication. computer - an electronic thinking device; dispute - to put think Latin disagree with what another person thinks; input - contribution of one's thinking. pyrotechnics - the art of making fireworks; pyrometer - pyr/o fire, heat Greek a thermometer for measuring high temperature; pyretic - relating to or producing fever. quadrant - open space with buildings on 4 sides; quad/r/ri four Latin quadrennium - period of 4 years; quadruped - a 4-footed animal. quarter - one fourth; quart - a fourth of a gallon; quartet quart fourth Latin - a musical composition or group involving 4 voices or instruments. quintett - a composition for 5 voices or instruments; quintessence - pure essence, based on the ancient quin/t five, fifth Latin philosophy that there was a fifth element that was present in all things; quintuple - fivefold. eradicate - pull out at the roots; radical - fundamental, radic, root Latin looking at things from a drastic point of view; radish - radix an edible root of the mustard family. radioactive - emitting radiation; radiologist - someone radio radiation, ray diagnosing or treating via radiation. ramification - the resulting consequence of a decision; ram/i branch Latin ramify - to spread or branch out; ramus - a branchlike part. rebound -to spring back again; rewind - to wind again, back, re Latin something backward; reaction: a response; recognize: to backward identify someone or something seen before. regent - a person who rules on behalf of a king or queen; reg guide, rule Latin regime - a government that rules; regulate - to apply a rule. retroactive - relating to something in the past; retrogress retro backward, back Latin - to go back to an earlier condition; retrospect - the remembering of past events. rhinoceros - a species of animals with a big horn on the rhin/o nose Greek snout; rhinoplasty - surgery of the nose; rhinovirus - viruses that are causing the common cold. rhododendron - a flower with red/pink flowers; rhodium rhod/o red Greek - an element which produces a red solution; rhodopsin - a purple pigment in the retina that is needed for vision. deride - to make fun of someone; ridicule - to make fun rid laugh Latin or mock; ridiculous - silly, causing laughter. diarrhea - abnormally excessive bowl movement; rrh/ea Latin flow, discharge hemorrhage - heavy blood flow; catarrh - inflammation /oea/ag Greek of a mucous membrane, especially the nose and throat. ruby - deep red color and a precious stone of the same rub red Latin color; rubella - measles; bilirubin - reddish pigment in bile. bankrupt - unable to pay because you're "broke"; rupt break, burst Latin interrupt - to break into a conversation or event, to disturb; rupture - a break in something. sane - mentally healthy; sanitary - relating to cleanliness san health Latin and health; sanitation - maintenance of public health and cleanliness. ascend - to climb upward; crescendo - a climbing up of scend climb, go Latin the volume of music; descend - to go or climb down. conscience - sense of knowing right from wrong; sci know Latin conscious - knowing what is happening; omniscient - knowing everything. arteriosclerosis - hardening of the arterial walls; multiple sclerosis - disease which causes the tissue of scler/o hard Greek the brain and spinal cord to harden; sclerometer - instrument for measuring hardness. microscope - a device used to see tiny things; periscope see, examine, scop/e/y Greek - a seeing instrument on a submarine; telescope - a observe device used to see over a distance. inscribe - to write letters or words on a surface; scribe - scrib, write, written Latin a person who writes out documents; describe - to script represent with words or pictures. secede - to formally break away from; seclude - to keep se apart Latin away from; serum - a liquid isolated out of another. dissect - to cut apart piece by piece; intersection - the sect cut Latin place or point where two things cross each other; bisect - to cut into two equal parts. reside- be stationed; sediment- the matter that settles to sed, sid, sess sit Latin the bottom of a liquid; session- an actual or constructive sitting of a body self-discipline - the ability to discipline yourself; self- of, for, or by self respect - respect for yourself; selfish concerned only itself with your own interests. semiannual - every half year; semicircle - half a circle; semi half, partial Latin semiconscious - partly conscious; semiannual - every half of a year. sept/i seven Latin September - this used to be the seventh month in the Roman calendar; septet - a group of seven musicians; septuagenarian - a person in his/her seventies. conserve - to save or keep something safe; preserve - to serv save, keep Latin save something; reservation - a place kept for a person. sextet or sextette - a composition or group of six, sex six Latin sextuple - sixfold; sexagenarian - person in his/her sixties. desolate - lonely, dismal, gloomy; solitary - done alone, sol alone Latin by yourself; solo - a performance done by one person alone. solar - involving the sun; parasol - umbrella protecting sol sun Latin from the sun; solarium - a room where one is exposed to sun light. insomnia - inability to fall asleep; somniloquy - talking somn/I sleep Latin in your sleep; somnolent - feeling sleepy. consonant - a speech sound; sonorous - producing loud, son sound Latin full, rich sounds; supersonic - faster than sound; unison - as one voice. philosopher - a wise person; sophisticated - wise about soph wise Greek the ways of the world; sophism - a clever but misleading argument. circumspect - cautious, looking all around; retrospective spec/t, see, look Latin - a looking back at past things; spectator - a person who spic sees an event. biosphere - the whole round surface of the earth; sphere ball Greek hemisphere - half the earth spherically shaped like a ball. inspire - to stimulate or animate; transpire - to give of spir breathe Latin vapor with waste product through the skin or a membrane; spirit - invisible life force. stable - standing steady and firm; stagnant - standing sta stand Latin still, not moving; stationary - at a standstill, fixed. constellation - a group of stars that forms a pattern; stell star Latin interstellar - between the stars; stellar - relating to stars. construct - to build; destruction - the act of destroying struct build Latin something that was built; structure - something built; infrastructure - underlying framework of a system. under, lower submarine - an underwater boat; submerge - to put sub than, Latin underwater; substandard - inferior to accepted inferior to standards. sum - the combined total of everything; summation - the sum highest Latin total, highest amount; summit the highest point or top. higher in quality Super bowl - the final annual football game; superior - super Latin above average, better in quality; supersonic - faster than or quantity the speed of sound. symmetry -similarity in size, form or arrangement; sy/m together, with, Greek synergy - the combined effect; synchronize - to cause to /n/l/s same occur at the same time. contact - a state in which two things touch; tactile - tact, tang touch Latin relating to the sense of touch; tangible - able to be touched; intact - with nothing missing. syntax - the systematic arrangement of words; tax/o arrangement Greek taxonomy - the science of classification; ataxia - loss of the ability to coordinate muscle action. technology - the practical application of knowledge; techno technique, skill Greek technocracy - rule of technology; technologically - characterized by technology. telephone - a device to talk to a distant person; telescope far, distant, - a device to view distant objects; television - a device tel/e/o Greek complete to receive pictures from afar; telecommuting - working remotely, bridging the distance via virtual devices. contemporary- existing at the same time; temporal - temp/or time Latin relating to time; temporary - lasting for a limited time. continent- serving to restrain or limit; detention- the act ten, tin, tent hold Latin or fact of detaining, tenacious- having parts or elements strongly adhering to each other attrition- the act of rubbing together or wearing down; detritus- a product of disintegration or wearing ter, trit rub Latin away; trite- used or occurring so often as to have lost interest, freshness, or force determine - to find something out at the end of an term/ina end, limit Latin investigation; terminate - to end; exterminate - to destroy or get rid of completely. extraterrestrial - existing outside the earth; terrain - terr/a/i land, earth Latin ground or land; territory - an area of land. tetrapod - having 4 legs; tetrarchy - government by 4 tetra four Latin rulers; tetrose - a monosaccharide with four carbon atoms. bibliotheca- a list or catalog of books; theme- a proposition for discussion or argument; thesis- a the put Greek dissertation embodying results of original research and especially substantiating a specific view monotheism - belief in one god; polytheism - the/o god Greek worshiping more than one god; theology - the study of religion, god, etc. thermal - relating to heat; thermos - an insulated jar that therm/o heat Greek keeps heat in; thermostat - a device that controls heat. tort twist Latin contortion - a twisted shape or position; distort - to alter the shape or condition of; retort - reply in a manner that is supposed to change the effect of something previously said. detoxification - the process of removing poisons; toxic - tox poison Latin poisonous; toxicology - the study of poisons; intoxicated - influenced by drugs. attract - to pull objects nearer; distract - to drag attention tract pull, drag Latin away from something; tractor - a motor vehicle that pulls things. transcontinental - across the continent; transfer - to across,beyond, trans Latin move from one place to another; transport - to carry through something across a space. three, once in triangle - a figure with 3 sides and 3 angles; triathlon - Greek tri every three, an athletic contest with 3 events; tricycle - a 3-wheeI Latin third vehicle with pedals. beyond, ultrahigh - extremely high; ultramodern - more modern ultra extreme, more Latin than anything else; ultrasonic - sound waves beyond than human hearing. not,opposite of, unabridged - not shortened; unfair - opposite of fair; un Latin lacking unfriendly - lacking friendliness. unicycle - a vehicle with one wheel; unilateral - decided uni one, single Latin by only one person or nation; unique - the only one of its kind; unison - as one voice. suburb - residential area on the edge of a city; urban - urb city Latin relating to a city; urbanology - the study of city life. evacuate - to empty a dangerous place; vacant - empty, vac empty Latin not occupied; vacation - a time without work. circumvent - to go around or bypass restrictions; ven/t come Latin convention - a gathering or assembly of people with a common interest; intervene - to come between. veracious - truthful, honest; veracity - the truth; verify - ver/I truth Latin to make sure that something is true. verbalize - to put into words; adverb - a word relating to verb word Latin a verb; proverb - a short saying that expresses a well- known truth. reverse - to turn around; introvert - being turned towards vers, the inside; version - a variation of an original; turn Latin vert controversy - a conversation in which positions are turned against each other. acting in place vice of, Latin vice-president - the person next in rank to the president next in rank vid see Latin evident clearly seen vince, convince - to win someone over; invincible - not able to conquer Latin vic be conquered; victory - the conquest of an enemy. vision - the ability to see; envision - to picture in the vis, vid see Latin mind; evident - clearly visible. revival - the act of bringing back to life; vital - viv/i live, life Latin pertaining to live; vivacious - high-spirited and full of vit life. advocate - to speak in favor of; equivocate - to use voc/i voice, call Latin misleading language that could be interpreted two different ways; vocalize - to produce with your voice. benevolent - showing good will and kindness; volition - vol/i/u wish, will Latin the act of making a choice or decision, voluntary - resulting from your own free will. vor, carnivorous - meat-eating; voracious - desiring or eating eat Latin vour food in great quantities; devour - to eat quickly. xanthium- a genus of coarse and rough or spiny xanth yellow Latin herbs; xanthochromia- yellowish discoloration (as of the skin or cerebrospinal fluid); xanthogenic xenophobic - afraid of foreigners; xenogenesis - the xen/o foreign Greek creation of offspring that is completely different from either parent; xenophile - attracted to foreigners. xerophyte - a plant that grows in dry climate; xer/o/I dry Greek xerography - a dry photocopying process; xeric - requiring small amounts of moisture. xylocarp; xyloid- resembling wood; xylophone-an organ xyl wood Greek percussion stop of similar tone quality zoology - study of animals; zooid - resembling an zo/o animal life Greek animal; zooplankton - minute floating aquatic animals. zygote - a cell formed by the union of two gametes and the organism developing from that; zygomorphic - zyg/o pair Greek pertaining to organisms that can be divided into symmetrical halves along one axis only.